Odds are the Hood Internet has mashed up your two favorite artists. And then your next two favorite artists. Get ready to dance to what ever surprises they’ve got in store for us. Check out their site: http://www.thehoodinternet.com/

The Knocks will also be performing for what is sure to be a set where you don’t stop moving. Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/itstheknocks

Doors open at 9:30, Music starts at 10.
Tickets will be sold at the door. $1 for Bates students and $3 for non-students.

Yellow Roman Candles is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Aaron Morse, and based on their first release, If It’s Right, there is a sense that this band could really make a run at achieving a certain level of national notoriety. The album certainly has shades of LaMontagne’s earlier work. Its gritty and working-class sensibilities leave the listener transported to perhaps a greater understanding of the plight of much of middle America….. If It’s Right is a decidedly raw album, which, if given a few listens can really tear into one’s soul. It’s part Springsteen and part Dylan, but certainly all Maine. Not to say that I am surprised, but this simple little album proves that Yellow Roman Candles will one day be deserving of a place among the pantheon of great Maine folk musicians.”

Phantogram took the stage next, playing songs off of their recent full-length release, Eyelid Movies. The performance featured Josh Carter on guitar and keyboardist Sarah Barthel playing and singing over big-beat inspired drum machines.  The band’s simple setup echoed the style of Matt & Kim, who proved that complex is not always best at a Bates show last fall.  Barthel mixed the performance live onstage, layering different parts to create a sound that was both expressive and danceable.  It was easy to see why the duo are known for their energetic live performances.  The night was capped off with a DJ set from Bates’ Jamie Cook, a preeminent campus DJ.

http://www.myspace.com/phantogram
http://www.myspace.com/theyellowromancandles
http://www.myspace.com/jamiemcook

Photographs courtesy of Peter Senzamici

Matt and Kim are an electronic pop duo consisting of Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino. Noted for their simple dance melodies, they have been featured in festivals such as the Siren Music Festival in Brooklyn, Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, and the KahBang Indie Music and Art Festival in Bangor. Their most recent release Grand, which reached #170 on the Billboard Top 100, includes the Singles “Daylight,” which was recently featured in a commercial for Bacardi, and “Lessons Learned,” the video of which has been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.

Matt and Kim are one of the premier bands in the rapidly expanding Brooklyn-based independent music scene. This show promises to be one of the best electronic shows in the state of Maine this year.

WRBC in Icelandic News

Bates College is now a known entity in the country of Iceland. The local paper, Fréttablaðið, covered FM Belfast’s journey to Bates in a March 10th article. The article has been translated by Bates professor, Aslaug Asgeirsdottir.

“Discussed the Icelandic Recession”

The danceband FM Belfast recently returned from a two-week trip to the United States where they participated in a variety of things.

FM Blefast played a concert at Bates College in Maine where they also participated in a seminar on the collapse of the Icelandic economy. Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir, a professor of politics at the college lead the seminar.

“They asked how the collapse really felt. We just described it and discussed how the protests helped uncover some phenomenal corruption that we had no idea existed,” said singer Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir.

Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson, FM Belfast´s singer, did make the news during the protests when a police car drove into him in front the the parliament building. Afterward he was hit with a baton in the back of his head.

“They showed a great deal of interest as people in the United States are filled with fear. Their system is slowly going bankrupt, so people there are particularly interested [in the Icelandic collapse], said Lóa while adding lightheartedly: “People there have completely stopped asking us about Björk. Now everyone wants to discuss the collapse [of the Icelandic economy].”

Students running the Bates College radio station, WRBC, saw FM Belfast play during Iceland Airwaves in 2008, and then arranged for them to play at Bates.

FM Belfast also did other things while in the United States. The band also recorded new songs at a studio in Brooklyn, New York and met with an entertainment lawyer who has helped the band get noticed in the States.

Fréttablaðið, Reykjavík, Iceland, March 10, 2009. Page 20

FM Belfast is a four-piece electronic band. They were one of the surprise breakout artists at last October’s Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, which is held annually in Reykjavik, Iceland. Their first LP, How to make friends, was also released in October 2008 in Iceland. It is available for sale in the United States through the iTunes music store.

FM Belfast is considered one of the premier new artists in the rapidly expanding Icelandic music scene. Their music utilizes elements of dance pop and expands on it with profound lyrics and a light-hearted attitude. This show promises to be one of the best electronic shows in the state of Maine this year.

Among the best performances of the festival were Yelle (FR), FM Belfast (IS), Seabear (IS), Boys in a Band (FO), GusGus (IS), Fuck Buttons (UK) and Cocktail Vomit (IS).

Here is a photographic sampling of some of the concerts and mischief that took place in Reykjavik:

-Doug Ray & Nelson Harris